Lesson video

Hi everybody.

My name is Esther.

Some people call me Miss Esther.

I'm an artist and art teacher.

Today's lesson is called "Create a History Map." It's part of our unit, "Art that travels: stories, lands, and journeys." We'll be using paint and collage, and I can't wait to get started.

We'll get started now.

The outcome for this lesson is that by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to create a layered map using pastel, collage, and paint.

We have some key words for our lesson today.

I'll say them first.

You say them after me.

We have map.

And continent.

And border.

Fantastic.

Well done.

A map is a drawing that shows where places are.

A continent is a very large area of land on earth.

Like Africa.

A border is a line on a map that shows where places stop or where they start, where they begin.

This is our lesson outline and our three learning cycles for today to create our history map.

Firstly, we'll make our own pastel maps, and then we'll collage and paint new countries, and then we will discuss how materials can show change.

Starting with making our own pastel maps.

We have something to look at here and a question.

What do we call a drawing that shows land and places? <v Instructor>Pause the video and talk to someone nearby</v> about what you think this drawing is called.

<v ->I wonder if you got this answer.

</v> This is called a map.

A long time ago, before countries from Europe came and divided up the land within the continent of Africa, many powerful and beautiful kingdoms already existed.

We have a check for understanding to do together.

It's a true or false question.

Africa is one country.

Do you think this is true or false? Pause the video and talk to a partner about whether you think this is true or false.

False is the correct answer.

Let's find out why together.

Africa is a continent made up of many different countries and cultures past and present.

Different maps from different times can show this.

These African kingdoms had their own leaders, cities, cultures, and ways of living.

The continent of Africa has a rich history full of diverse kingdoms and creative people.

Some of the kingdoms in Africa included the kingdom of Mali, the kingdom of Ghana, the kingdom of Great Zimbabwe, and the kingdom of Benin.

We have another check for understanding to do together.

The Kingdoms of Africa included witch of the following powerful civilizations.

Is it A, the Roman empire.

B, the kingdom of Mali.

Or C, the British Empire.

Pause the video and think about the map we've just looked at and the things that we have just learned and decide is it A, B, or C? Fantastic conversations, and really thinking about the answer to this question.

Did you get B, the kingdom of Mali? That is the correct answer.

The African Kingdom of Mali, along with the kingdoms of Ghana, Great Zimbabwe, and Benin all have their own leaders, cities, cultures and ways of living.

Well done everyone for sharing your ideas.

Here's Andeep.

Andeep is going to create an imaginary continent.

This means he is going to make up new land that does not really exist on a map.

This sounds very exciting, Andeep.

Andeep says, "I can still use real maps to get ideas and shapes from, but I don't have to copy them exactly." He might start by drawing an outline of his continent on large paper.

So Andeep's drawn quite an interesting shape there with lots of dips and ups and downs to the edges.

Andeep says, "I'm using a pencil to draw my outline." Andeep might think about adding four meaningful places.

These might be a home, a favorite place.

I wonder if you have a favorite place.

Your school.

A place you would like to visit.

Andeep is looking at some different pastels.

Andeep says, "I'm going to use oil pastel to add to my meaningful places, as these are bold and bright." Some great colors there to use, Andeep.

Wow, this has changed.

We'll find out some more.

Andeep says, "I've made my meaningful places grow by adding a border." The edges around countries are called borders.

And it seems to have drawn his borders with a white pastel.

Borders are often made by people.

Borders can change over time and not always in fair ways.

<v Instructor>Discuss this as a group.

</v> Pause the video, look at the picture and think about how the borders on a map might change.

<v ->Fantastic work.

</v> You've been really thoughtful about sharing your ideas.

Some of the answers you might have had are that countries might decide to join together, and if countries fight, the winner might take some land and change the border.

And one country might take over another country.

Well done.

Andeep uses lines to connect his meaningful places.

Andeep says, "I have created patterns to connect my spaces.

This is because these places are not separate to me." We'll have a pause here for a check for understanding.

An imaginary continent is A, a country in Africa.

B, a place you can visit on holiday.

Or C, a place made up in your mind.

Pause the video and talk to a partner about what you think an imaginary continent is.

The answer is C.

An imaginary continent is a new made up land that does not exist in real life.

Artists might use maps to get ideas, but they do not have to copy them exactly.

Fantastic.

We are ready for task A.

Draw a large imaginary continent.

Here are our top tips for this task.

One, draw an outline.

Two, add meaningful places.

You might let these places grow or change by adding borders.

Three, think about making connections between your meaningful places.

Looking again at what Andeep did and the kind of pattern marks he made between his meaningful places.

Pause the video and enjoy making your very own imaginary continent.

Really exciting work, everybody.

Using your imaginations to create your own map and your own land that is special to you.

When you did this, you might have drawn an outline using your imagination, added meaningful places, showing growth and change with a border.

Thought about making connections between your meaningful places using line and pattern.

We are ready to look at our second learning cycle now, collage and paint new countries.

This march shows Africa a long time ago after a meeting called the Berlin Conference.

Have a look at the map, and maybe you notice some changes from the earlier map.

At that meeting, countries from Europe divided Africa between themselves without asking the African people.

On the map, you can see that different parts of Africa were colored to show which European country took control like Britain, France, or Germany.

This map helps us understand how Africa was changed during that time.

The land was no longer ruled by African kingdoms. It was taken over by others.

We have a check for understanding, and it's a discussion.

Talk to somebody nearby.

Discuss.

Do you think that the Berlin conference was fair to the people of Africa? Pause the video and have a conversation.

Well done.

For your brilliant thinking.

You've asked big questions about fairness and about history today.

Some of the things that might have been an answer for you is no, because the people of Africa were not asked, or some of the African kingdoms lost their homes and power.

I don't think that sounds fair, or it could have been other countries took their land and changed their borders.

Great discussions, everyone.

Andeep is going to make some changes to the borders on his continent map.

Andeep says, "I'm going to make my shapes quite big, no smaller than my thumb." He starts by ripping up pieces of card and recycle paper to make some new shapes.

This artist is also ripping up their paper.

What do you notice? Pause the video and point to the screen and trace the outline of the ripped paper with your finger.

And look at how the artist is ripping the paper.

You could have noticed that the edges of the paper are uneven and jagged, like this wobbly line.

Here's Andeep again.

Andeep closes his eyes and places the shapes on his map.

Andeep says, "This means the borders of my meaningful places will disappear under the collage." Andeep arranges the collage shapes like a jigsaw.

Andeep says, "I will use glue to stick my shapes down." Andeep's ready to paint now.

He mixes new colors with paint.

I wonder if you know the color that's going to be made from the yellow and the blue.

Andeep says, "I can use the colors of paint to create new borders like the Berlin Agreement Map." Wow, things have changed.

What has happened to the places that Andeep drew with pastel? Maybe count the colors or the shapes.

Pause the video and take your time thinking about what has changed.

Here's Andeep.

Andeep says, "The meaningful kingdoms I made at first have disappeared under the new, collaged borders." We are ready now for task B.

Collage and paint new countries.

I love collage and I love paint.

These are our top tips.

One, rip up pieces of card and recycle paper to make some new shapes.

Two, close your eyes and place your shapes on your map.

No peeking.

Three.

Glue down your paper to cover your meaningful kingdoms. Four, mix colors of paint to paint your new countries and borders.

Have a wonderful time changing the borders of your map and mixing some new colors in paint.

Pause the video and restart when you've done task B.

Great work, everyone.

I hope you had fun making your collage shapes and paint work together.

You might have ripped up paper to make new countries.

Covered your meaningful kingdoms by gluing down your paper.

Used colors you have made to make new countries and borders.

We are on our last lesson cycle.

Discuss how materials can show change.

Andeep's paint is still wet.

He thinks about how he could change his map again.

Let's hear some more.

Andeep says, "I could add sand to my map.

This might cover up some of the changes that I have made." You can sprinkle sand onto your map.

What do you notice? Look at the screen and see what's changing as the sand drops.

Take a moment to really think about what's changing.

Did you notice the sand is covering the old borders, and that the land might be changing? And new countries might be changing again.

We'll do "I do, you do" now.

I discuss what story my map might now be telling.

I could say the sand shows that the borders can still change.

It also feels like the sand is hiding or covering things in the past.

Now at it's your turn.

You discuss what story your map might now be telling.

You could start your conversations with things like, "The sand shows.

Or "It feels like." <v Instructor>Pause the video.

</v> Imagine you have sprinkled sand onto your map.

And talk to a partner about what story your map would tell.

<v ->Fantastic conversations.

</v> You might have said, the sand shows that borders are being taken or changed.

Or it feels like the sand is covering the old borders.

The countries are changing again.

We'll think now about an incredible artist.

Antoni Tapies was a Spanish artist from Barcelona.

He used simple everyday materials to express difficult stories.

Antoni use dust, sand, or newspaper to talk about memory.

We have a message here.

"I'm Memory.

I'm like a little treasure chest in your mind.

I hold all the things you've seen done and felt.

I hope you remember your birthday, your favorite toy, or that time you went to the seaside." <v Instructor>We don't need to pause or talk.

</v> Just look and think.

What do you see and what do you feel this artwork might remember? <v ->Antoni Tapies also used his work</v> to share ideas about time.

We have another message here.

"Hello, I'm Time.

I keep moving like a river, from yesterday, to today or to tomorrow.

I help you grow, change and make new memories.

I am the reason morning turns into night." <v Instructor>We have another thinking challenge.

</v> The question is how are ideas about time used in this map artwork? Let's look at the map artwork on the screen again and think about what makes it look like something has changed.

Does it feel like something is moving or something happened long ago? <v ->Great, everyone.

</v> Well done for being detectives and investigating the idea of time in an artwork.

Tapies used his materials to share ideas about protest.

We have another message.

"Hey there, I'm Protest.

I speak up when something feels unfair.

I might look like a sign, a strong voice, or even a picture.

Artists sometimes use me to show what they care about and what they want to change." What might this artwork be protesting about? Here, we maybe need to use our time and rewind a bit to what we started off looking at.

And then we might need to use our memories to think about some of the things that we've learned and how we've covered up our countries.

Pause the video and talk as a group about what this artist and this artwork might be protesting about.

Lovely ideas.

You're starting to think a little bit more about how artists can speak up through their work.

Well done, everybody.

Andeep is looking at Antoni Tapies' work.

Andeep says, "He mixes sand and dust, so his art feels like an old wall with stories scratched in." We're going to have a check for understanding now.

You've done so much thinking today.

True or false? Borders on a map never move, never change.

Pause the video and think about it.

Again, is it true or false that borders on a map never move or change? Did you get the answer? False.

We'll find out together why it's false.

Borders can change for many reasons, such as new countries being made, or countries might join together, or they might also split apart.

Borders can also change after wars and after big decisions.

We are ready for task C.

Sprinkle sand onto the wet paint on your map.

Think about how has this changed your map.

Have a wonderful time sprinkling the sand.

Pause the video and restart when you've done task C.

Great work, everybody.

You've really been confident in experimenting with sand and paint today.

How has adding sand changed your map? You might have an answer like the borders are now less clear.

I think the sand makes the land look damaged and hurt, or some parts of the map look hidden, as if the past did not exist.

Let's do the second part of task C.

Think how the sand covers or hides parts of the past.

You could start your thoughts with something like "The sand makes me think about." "It looks like the past is being." Or "Maybe the artist wants to hide." Pause the video and think about your answer to this question of how the sand covers or hides parts of the past.

Wow, you are great thinkers.

You might have said, "The sand makes me think about the lands changing." "Maybe the artist wants to show us that the past is sometimes hidden." Or "It looks like the past is being covered up." Incredible work today.

You've thought about history, thought about fairness and unfairness, and used your spectacular imaginations.

Now we'll have a summary of all that we've done today.

Maps can tell personal stories and the histories of a continent.

Artists might show that borders can be changed, and you made some exciting changes to your memorable places maps.

And then covering or layering materials can reflect, change, erasure, or memory.

You've done a brilliant job and have been a joy to work with today.

I hope to see you in another art lesson very soon.

Bye for now.